Well, the number of people who write fanfic overall is greater than the number that play RPGs, but a lot of that depends on the fandom in question - I bet the number of people writing & reading, say, Pros fanfic nowadays is significantly smaller than the number of people playing D&D 4th ed. (Which I've been doing lately w/ M&M's group, have I mentioned? ^^) But taking it by numbers alone is kind of silly anyway, because surely GRRM would *want* thousands playing (& buying) his RPG if he could get 'em! And for that matter, it's not like his books are a popular fic property anyway.
That the RPG is authorized is something - except that fanfic isn't authorized and that's kind of the point. Fanfic is *not* canon. A lot of the fanfic I read and love, I wouldn't *want* to see as canon. If I want to read the original creator's take on some chars, then I read/watch the canon. I go to fanfic when I want something *else*. And I resent an author like GRRM telling me that I am wrong and a bad fan for wanting something else sometimes!
Ah well, GRRM's whole argument is specious. According to him, encouraging fanfic is a bad business decision which will lead to an author's ruin. The best example of this is of course Harry Potter - JK Rowling didn't forbid fanfic, and now HP is the most-ficced-for book series ever, while poor Rowling is dying in poverty...
...OH WAIT.
Yay for Jim Butcher's policy, and Mercedes Lackey finally coming around!
--now go to bed, g'night~! (and say hi to A&A from me ^^)
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winterfish
no subject
Date: 2010-05-15 04:15 am (UTC)That the RPG is authorized is something - except that fanfic isn't authorized and that's kind of the point. Fanfic is *not* canon. A lot of the fanfic I read and love, I wouldn't *want* to see as canon. If I want to read the original creator's take on some chars, then I read/watch the canon. I go to fanfic when I want something *else*. And I resent an author like GRRM telling me that I am wrong and a bad fan for wanting something else sometimes!
Ah well, GRRM's whole argument is specious. According to him, encouraging fanfic is a bad business decision which will lead to an author's ruin. The best example of this is of course Harry Potter - JK Rowling didn't forbid fanfic, and now HP is the most-ficced-for book series ever, while poor Rowling is dying in poverty...
...OH WAIT.
Yay for Jim Butcher's policy, and Mercedes Lackey finally coming around!
--now go to bed, g'night~! (and say hi to A&A from me ^^)